I grew up with an older father who loved the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Because of this, I have spent many hours watching Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Clark Cable, et al sing, dance and joke their way across the screen. It Happened One Night is one of those movies I watched but never really came back to time and time again, unlike many of the Doris Day films, however I couldn't help but be intrigued when I came across this audiobook.

I didn't expect it to set itself in the timeframe, expecting a more modern adaptation that focused on the plot points, so this was a pleasant surprise. The characters were pretty much what I would expect from a Hollywood leading man and his co-star starlet. Joan reminded me very much of a Katherine Hepburn type and Dash was the stereotype of the boy pulling a girl's pigtails because he likes her.

The book was much longer than I expected. Boy and girl fight. Boy secretly loves girl. Girl has sworn to never love. Boy accidentally sends in a real marriage certificate for a movie wedding. Girl demands divorce but must complete a film with her new husband first. Girl realises that she does love boy. And there's still about five hours of audiobook left.

While I appreciated the references to women and homosexuals in Hollywood, there felt like a few too many subplots. And there were a few times when it felt like the author was placing modern sensibilities in a historical setting. Gleeful declarations of someone's true sexuality, women writing and directing films and revelations of filming ‘stag films’ without backlash don’t really mesh with the shiny veneer we are so familiar with.

Overall, this was an enjoyable text and I did like spotting all of the references to actors, films and directors (I’m looking at you, Fritz Lang!).

Title: It Happened One Fight- standalone

Release date: 7/11/23, read 7/24/23.

Author: Maureen Lee Lenker-1st time author for me

Book cover: loved it, captured the beautiful/glamourous Joan and Dash

Format: audiobook

Run Time: 11hrs 12 mins.

Narrator: Patti Murin, great work doing male and female voices.

POV: 3rd person

Setting: 1930s Hollywood

Genre: Historical Romance

Tropes: enemies to lovers, celebrity, marriage of convenience

Representation: Old glam Hollywood, LGBTQ+

Rating: 5*****

Source: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC. I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.


Quick summary: Joan and Dash reunite for a new movie after a failed date w/ tabloid fodder 4 years ago. Now, because of Dash and a stupid prank, he and Joan are married "accidentally." They spend 6 weeks in Reno to get a quickie divorce w/ the least amount of drama.


Content warnings/triggers: divorce, sexual harassment, sexism, toxic masculinity


Characters: Main and Minor

Joan Davis- ex-Queen of Hollywood, trying to revive her movie career w/ Dash after 4 years of being "box office poison" without him.

Dash Howard-King of Hollywood, a ladies' man. Won an Oscar last year.

Monty Smyth- British, Joan's fiancé, in a lot of Westerns. He agrees to a marriage arrangement w/ Joan to put her back into public's good graces.

Harry Evets- their studio boss, protects Joan and Dash as investments/money makers. He's not as bad as a Harvey Weinstein but he dates the new, young talent.

Arlene-Joan's assistant and new script writer. Wrote a "real women's movie" w/ a divorcee for Joan.

Jerry Scott-Monty's ex "roommate"

Flynn-Dash's bff and an actor himself and a ladies' man.

Leda Price-gossip columnist, like gossip girl XOXO

Review

Definitely brings to mind the Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Rock Hudson days. A beautiful portrayal of old Hollywood glamour. I loved the tension and attraction between Joan and Dash. I loved what Arlene and Monty represented - how sexist and homophobic times were. I'm glad everyone got their due after working so hard and being so ambitious.

Setting in old Hollywood, an accidental marriage, humor, drama and some great writing and you get It Happened One Fight. Loved this book it was such a fun read and I highly recommend if you love old Hollywood! Thanks NetGallery!

I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this book because I don’t usually like books set in the past. I’m glad I gave it a chance because it was great! The plot was interesting and I felt the author represented the time frame accurately. The narrator was great, she’s one of my favorites! Joan definitely grated on my nerves a bit in regards to how she treated Dash at times but she made up for it!

I had mixed opinions on this book. One minute I was enjoying it. The next I wanted to quit reading it. Halfway through I thought it was almost through because everything felt resolved. I realized there must be something big coming and I just wasn’t into it. So many mixed emotions for me personally.

This is a rom-com set in the movie industry in the 1930s. Joan Davis and Dash Howard are the "dream team" for the studio. They starred in some films together and audiences adored them. Now they're on the outs. Joan is now engaged to the latest big star in Hollywood. However, we find out that Joan and Dash are legally married! To resolve the situation, they move to Reno to get divorced and while they're there, the studio wants them to make one last film together.

I really wanted to like this book, but there was so much keeping it from being likeable. First and most glaring, Joan is an unlikeable and confusing character. She is a really strong woman in a male dominated industry. On the other hand, she is so insecure in her personal relationships. Even when she thinks and knows things are going well, she still thinks the worst of people. This happens over and over and gets really old. Second, there were a few times that the language the characters used was not around in the 1930s. And there are times when the characters are talking that their language style goes from the 30s to more modern times. Third, one of the characters catches a 40 pound Rainbow Trout. It sounded out of line so I decided to check. The Nevada state record is 18 pounds! I guess it could've been caught at a private ranch, but it still sounds totally unbelievable. I guess it's probably a little thing in the overall picture of the book, but it's an example of little things that distracted from this becoming a good book.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Book 26 of 2023 - ✅! Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media & Maureen Lee Lenker for an ALC of It Happened One Fight in exchange for my honest review.

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker had been on my TBR since going to the LA Festival of Books this year, when Maureen Lee Lenker was a panel moderator. This book had so many elements that felt like they were tailor-made for me: Hollywood, romance, period, witty banter -- it was just all-around fun, and had SO MANY great tropes: forced-proximity, relationship of convenience, miscommunication, to name a few.

Joan Davis (yes, it's the amalgamation of names that you're thinking of) and Dash Howard are 2 of Hollywood's hottest stars. While they've starred in multiple pictures together, they're enemies. A prank gone wrong has our leads married to each other, unbeknownst to them.

Stories about Hollywood are my bread and butter - Lenker's writing instantly transported me back to the 1930's, and it made me think of so many fun films that inspired the book (which she has listed at the end of the book) + while not mentioned in the book, it made me think of Down With Love (the criminally underrated Ewan McGregor & Renée Zellweger rom-com which pulls from other classic rom-coms of later eras, such as Pillow Talk, etc). The supporting characters in this one were fun as well - specifically, Monty, who I imagine was partially inspired by Rock Hudson, and if Lenker ends up having a universe of books, I'd love to see his story. I felt that Joan and Dash's individual arcs, and arc as a couple were very well done - you could absolutely see and track their growth as the book went on. She also writes steam quite well!

My (minor) critiques - which are common for me in reading fictional books about film and television because I work in TV Production, so it's literally my area of expertise - is that the book could have benefited from someone with physical production experience reading it and giving notes. 1) The term Best Boy seemed to be used in place of an Electrician or a Gaffer/Chief Lighting Technician (the department head in the Electric department). In reality, there is a Best Boy in Grip and a Best Boy in Electric, and if you're working on/through a studio lot, there are Best Boys for each of those departments that are lot-specific. 2) There was mention of getting a ticket to a screen test - I believe that was intended to say either a premiere or screening, because screen tests aren't available to the public (though in today's day and age, they seem to pop up years after the fact, on some special features). Screen tests are during the casting process, when those who are involved in the film's casting see how an actor is on screen or in a chemistry read. 3) The term script girl was used to describe Arlene, who was an assistant-turned-writer, but a script girl was a term for a Script Supervisor, which is its own position and department on set.

Overall, this book was very fun, and I will absolutely be reading more of Maureen Lee Lenker's books in the future. 4.5/5 overall, and 2.5/5 peppers: chapter 18, IYKYK...

#ItHappenedOneFight #NetGalley

I almost gave up on this audiobook but I'm actually very glad I stuck it out! I'm often frustrated when "banter" in books is just bickering. This book started a bit like that, and then even worse because there were also pranks, which I just can't abide. But I thought the book had a really fun premise and rare setting (Golden age Hollywood) so I didn't give up on it. Ultimately the story was so satisfying! Great characterization of our love interests and secondary characters including a villain, a fun plot, and a good if a little too pat ending. It does good work with the theme of what the costs are of trying to protect oneself and also the cost of protecting others.

Hollywood gossip and petty feuds felt fleshed out and believable, and there was absolutely a solid story arc and compelling complications. Funnily enough I frequently feel like there’s not too many romances that have both well developed characters and unique plots, this did have both. That said there is still a heavy presence of tropes, and there are a couple of moments so overdramatized that it feels unrealistic and a bit silly.

This is definitely a like, not a love, but one I’ll still remember a couple books down the line and happily recommend to others.

Audio 4/5 - I’m incredibly impressed by the narration here, the purposeful use of transatlantic and midwestern accents really sells the ‘1930’s movie stars with modest roots’ characters.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher, but all opinions expressed are my own. It Happened One Fight is a charming romance between two 1930's movie stars, Joan Davis and Dash Howard. Sparks fly between the two from the beginning and I loved the progression off hostility to romance in the book. I found the details of old Hollywood to be just as good as the romance. The author clearly did their research and provides readers a fascinating look into the studio system that could make or break their stars and had much say over their personal lives. I listened to the audio and the narrator dd a good job enhancing my enjoyment of the story. I look forward to future titles from this author.

This book was out of my normally wheelhouse, but I thought it was interesting. It was definitely the old Hollywood Style and I love that! The ending was a little different than what I was expecting. Love the powerful woman vibes from the FMC.

Co-stars and rivals Joan and Dash are shocked to discover that a movie prank has led them to be legally married. They relocate their filming location to Reno so they can get a quick divorce. Joan discovers that Dash isn't the womanizer he's reputed to be, and they grow closer. But with a gossip columnist looking for secrets, can the fledgling relationship last?

I loved the 1930s romcom feel of this book. The plot was well-paced and engaging. The characters were fun and relatable. The ending grand gesture wasn't appropriate for the time period, but apart from that, it's an enjoyable read. The narration was well done.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I might have done better with this one as an actual book... I didn't find the narrator to embody the time period or the flavor of the book in a way that felt connective. There was nothing wrong with her as a narrator, but she didn't have that dishy snarky glamorous sensibility that you get when you watch people like Myrna Loy and William Powell in old movies - and that's what I felt like this book needed when I was listening to it. It would make a fantastic movie, and I will probably try to pick it up in print because in my head I would be able to supply the period context, giving the snappy retorts and melodramatic moments the oomph that they seemed to be lacking in the audiobook.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for providing me an ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I ate this story up! Give me that old Hollywood with its glamour, larger than life stars, and exclusive society life. Debut author Maureen Lee Lenker perfectly captured everything I love about black-and-white films.

The narrator did a superb job with capturing the essence of old Hollywood voices with the quick talking and a sound akin to that mid-Atlantic accent the stars of that Golden Age used. Perfect enunciation and pace. I was also pleased with her ability to do male voices as well as female voices without any of them being obnoxious. I would 100% recommend consuming this story in its audio form.

Dash Howard and Joan Davis are box-office gold on film but antagonistic children off screen. We get lots of bickering and fast talking upfront, along with a crazy accidental marriage between Dash and Davis. Lenker definitely serves us something tonally similar to the smart romantic-comedies of the 1930s.

Not only are these prickly actors married but also costars! Their new film forces them into close proximity as they shoot a new film. Pride, prejudice, and insecurity keeps the two from quickly making up and learning to understand each other. But while constantly bickering and getting up to shenanigans on set, Dash and Davis start to feel that undeniable attraction. (Note: there is only one spicy scene, but that amount seems appropriate to the story being told. Also, I was completely happy with all the longing, push-pull dynamics, and sizzling tension.)

The second half of the story veers away from the lighthearted rom-com and more toward angsty romantic drama of the 1940s. I do understand other reviewers' complaints about the ending, but it did not ruin my enjoyment. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT is not only a vibrant romance between a charming, softhearted man and a powerful but lonely woman. It is also a story that allows both our main characters to grow as individuals in their parallel journeys of self-discovery. This is a full story that lets us sink our teeth into the Hollywood scene, the pressures of fame, the actor versus the human being, and the weightiness of love.

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT is perhaps one of my favorite books of 2023. It will not be universally appealing, but... I recommend to any lover of old films. Also, if you're a romance reader who does not the third-act breakup and angsty drama, you're more likely to click with the book.